There are many, many posts about religion, doctrine, rituals, etc. on these forums but I can't recall seeing one that discusses the basis of Christianity: that we have been adopted by God to be His children and to have an intimate, loving relationship with Him.
The Old Testament discusses a distant, unapproachable God and a relationship with Him based on a priesthood that acts as an intermediary between His people and Himself. There is a lengthy, cumbersome law that was given through an intermediary that is above all impossible to keep in its entirety. Any violation of this law requires a punishment in order to appease the distant God who cannot tolerate any sin. And of course, the Israelites were punished many, many times for their violations.
Well, that situation has passed away, having been replaced by the New Covenant. God sent His Son to live for a while on the planet a) to give a knowledge of whom God really is, b) pay the final, full price for all sins committed -- past, present, and future, and c) most important, allow anyone to become one of His children. He wants an intimate, personal relationship based on love.
The easiest way to understand this is for anyone to imagine a perfect parent in their life. Not some distant relationship based on rules and punishment, but on the instinctive love that a parent naturally has for their child. This relationship does not require intermediaries, ornate rituals, "holy" behavior, and all the other trappings of the Old Covenant (and most unfortunately brought mistakenly into the New Covenant). All it requires is mutual love!
No parent expects their child to be perfect and flawless. It's understood that there will be shortcomings and mistakes, but that in no way affects the strong bond of love, acceptance, and forgiveness. God loves His adopted children, those who regard their parent not as some distant, formal rules enforcer, but as "Abba" or Daddy.
I love my eternal Abba who adopted me, an atheist, as His child. He has forgiven all my sins and brought me into His immediate family for eternity.
Compare that to the tragedy of religion that tries and tries and tries and tries to please God. What a total waste!
The Old Testament discusses a distant, unapproachable God and a relationship with Him based on a priesthood that acts as an intermediary between His people and Himself. There is a lengthy, cumbersome law that was given through an intermediary that is above all impossible to keep in its entirety. Any violation of this law requires a punishment in order to appease the distant God who cannot tolerate any sin. And of course, the Israelites were punished many, many times for their violations.
Well, that situation has passed away, having been replaced by the New Covenant. God sent His Son to live for a while on the planet a) to give a knowledge of whom God really is, b) pay the final, full price for all sins committed -- past, present, and future, and c) most important, allow anyone to become one of His children. He wants an intimate, personal relationship based on love.
The easiest way to understand this is for anyone to imagine a perfect parent in their life. Not some distant relationship based on rules and punishment, but on the instinctive love that a parent naturally has for their child. This relationship does not require intermediaries, ornate rituals, "holy" behavior, and all the other trappings of the Old Covenant (and most unfortunately brought mistakenly into the New Covenant). All it requires is mutual love!
No parent expects their child to be perfect and flawless. It's understood that there will be shortcomings and mistakes, but that in no way affects the strong bond of love, acceptance, and forgiveness. God loves His adopted children, those who regard their parent not as some distant, formal rules enforcer, but as "Abba" or Daddy.
I love my eternal Abba who adopted me, an atheist, as His child. He has forgiven all my sins and brought me into His immediate family for eternity.
Compare that to the tragedy of religion that tries and tries and tries and tries to please God. What a total waste!